YRC Worldwide’s CEO Zollars to retire when trucker’s ‘recovery plan’ is complete

Trucker YRC Worldwide’s CEO to retire

NEW YORK — Troubled trucking company YRC Worldwide said Tuesday that its chairman, president and CEO is retiring once its long-range recovery plan is complete.

Bill Zollars, 62, will stay with the company until a replacement is named, YRC said, but it’s not clear when that will be. YRC operates trucks under the Yellow, Roadway, Holland and New Penn names.

Zollars was named to his current position in November 1999. Before that, he was president of Yellow Transportation, a predecessor company of YRC.

Over the last two years the company has cut workers’ wages and sold real estate to stay afloat. Some analysts thought YRC was close to filing for bankruptcy protection late last year. It avoided that fate through a series of negotiations with its lenders that allowed it to put off some debt payments.

The Teamsters union said on Friday it has reached a tentative deal with the company for more financial concessions from union employees, an agreement that could include a deal to further cut wages or pension contributions. The deal, the details of which haven’t yet been revealed, still has to be voted on by employees.

A wage-cut proposal was rejected by employees at YRC’s competitor, Arkansas Best Corp. in May.

YRC, based in Overland, Kan., lost $9.5 million in the second quarter, or a penny per share, compared with a year-ago loss of $309 million, or $5.20 per share. Revenue fell to $1.12 billion from $1.23 billion a year ago.

At YRC’s national unit, shipments per day were down 18.6 percent. They were up 11 percent compared with the first quarter.

Trucking companies are indicators of the health of the broader economy because they carry so many consumer products, from appliances to clothing. The cost of everyday goods can be affected by trucking rates because freight shipments are a big expense for retailers and manufacturers.